PLEASE HELP. Odd thing happens when i go from veg room to flower

So here is my problem, EVERY time i go from my veg to flower, i get what you see in the pic below. Leaves start to curl under and stems turn red/purple and leaves feel dry, scratchy and rough kinda velvety (not smooth and cool like they were before the move). Mostly happens with my OG strains, but i see a little of it happen on everything usually. So here is what i have done / do and what i have already eliminated.

Basically comes down to it HAS to be something environmental. This happens when i am using rockwool, or coco, and is NOT something with my formula mix (btw, i have seen the same issue with both the lucas formula and standard GH 3 part formula). Speaking of, i use the GH 3 part and follow their recipe with my PPM's falling between 550 - 780 (PH is ALWAYS 5.7 - 5.8 and solution temp ranges from 20 - 22c). I thought it could have been CO2 (or abundance of CO2 which i know sounds strange but i have literally tried EVERYTHING i can think of here) so i have tried it without CO2 as well adn still this happens. I do flush my plants once a week as well with just plain RO water (do this throughout the grow and have done so for a while so this has nothing to do with the problem, just trying to lay all my cards out). Just as an experiment i left 4 babies in the veg room but have been feeding them and doing everything else EXACTLY the same as the ones in flower and they look GREAT! I am at a total loss here.

They are in 1 gal pots with a coco / perlite mix (about 70/30).

it corrects itself usually in the 2nd week of flower, but still, i know this is just not right. I veg under a 1000w mh and they get moved into flower and spread out under 1000w HPS's. When i move them into flower, i keep my temps about where they were in veg (75 - 80 at the canopy) and humidity is controlled at 55 - 60%. Before i flip them to 12/12 i keep them under the HPS for about a week and gradually move the lights from 50% to 100% to break them in (and this is when the problems start, after they go to 12/12 it straightens out). in the pic below they have been at 100% for 2 days (which is when i see the most pronounced issues but they start even at 50 and 75%).

To be fair this pic is when they were sleeping so i will snap a few when the lights pop on and post those as well.


Its really not THAT big of an issue but it just bugs me that this happens and i know its not right.By the end, my yield and quality are fantastic. I document everything with my grow so i can tell you pretty much EVERYTHING that has happened or gone into these babies. Any help would be appreciated.

i will guess it is the 50 & 75% power to a 1000w bulb and it is changing the color spectrum to one that the plant does not like. this has been something that no one has given me enough argument to make my mind up about. i have seen the difference in a bulbs spectrum if it is run under powered, and some ballasts manufactures say you should change the bulb to fit the power.

superstoner1 said:

i will guess it is the 50 & 75% power to a 1000w bulb and it is changing the color spectrum to one that the plant does not like. this has been something that no one has given me enough argument to make my mind up about. i have seen the difference in a bulbs spectrum if it is run under powered, and some ballasts manufactures say you should change the bulb to fit the power.

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I was thinking lighting could ne the culpret too, but i just am not really sure. It would explain that it becomes more pronounced as the light goes from 50 - 100, but its WAY worse once i reach 100. So by this logic, they dont like the hortilux 1000w HPS?? I am just not buying it as i know MANY people use this bulb and people that i know have the same strain and use the same bulbs. I am just not sure thats it. I saw same issues with digilux bulbs though.

Let say that was it... what are you suggesting i do / try to avoid this? Not stepping the power or get bulbs to match the %??

i will say, i know for a fact that hortilux bulbs do not work near as well on digital ballasts as they do on magnetic(that they were designed for). ushio is much better on digital.

Superstoner, i REALLY appreciate the fast response and your efforts!! However, i HIGHLY doubt that this the brand of bulb is t blame for a multitude of reasons. First and foremost being that i got the same issues with digilux (which is a bulb designed for use in digital ballasts). Next, there are a TON of people that use and swear by hortilux (and use digital ballasts). Once the plants get past this weird transitional state, they seem to really like the bulbs.

Again, no disrespect at all, and thanks for the input!!

it might be under/over watering. sorry if someone said this already. heh.

none taken. i was just throwing it out there as a possibility. but you have to think about what happens to bulbs not running at their potential and as for the hortilux, they were all i ever grew with until i went digital and to the naked eye and the meter they got beat by ushio.

friendlyperson92 said:

it might be under/over watering. sorry if someone said this already. heh.

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Took a look at this as well, but they are in 1 gal pots, and i water them every other day and get about 5-10% run off every time i water. If i let them go to 3 days they are SUPER light and you can just see that they didnt like that, 1 day they are still pretty heavy. HOWEVER, i watered them EXACTLY the same in the other room and had no issues at all. Its almost for SURE that its something in that particular room causing it. ????
i just have no clue where to go from here to figure it out.

try watering them a little more. they probably need more water now that they're flowering. water them every day once. just try that for a few days and let me know.

check for radon or other gases.

hmm.. this is an interesting one. definitely something i have not thought of or even researched. I may have to look into this. What do you know about it? My rooms were built in my garage in a relatively new home though... you think that could be an issue?

Friendlyperson, so the issue i have with thinking its a watering issue is the fact that the 4 plants i left in the veg room and watered on the exact same schedule out of the same res are doing great.

by the pics it does look like an over/under water to me aswell..

what kind of 1gallon pots and how long vegging??

maybe out gassing from building materials?

the vegging plants aren't using as much energy and nutrients as the flowering plants. so when you put them into the flowering, they require more nutrients and energy. they pull the nutrients through the water you give them. so when they go into flowering. they may need to be watered more than every other day.

I agree with you, and i will certainly give it a shot (its pretty hard to over water coco), but they have not been flipped to 12/12 as i break in the plants to the environment before flipping. You think the extra light would do that without actually going into flower mode?

if you're using coco. and only watering every other day. im almost positive it's under watering. try watering it a little more frequently and let me know what happens man.

In coco Idk but my pre98 bubba kush does this in transition into flower if I don't have the right npk ratios.....I notice that they love an abundance of N in veg but as soon as they start flowering it definitely does not, so I notice this leaf curl for a few weeks then it goes away....when my npk is on they don't curl at all....Idk if this the case with yours but just some food for thought....hopefully this helps diagnosing........

jcdws602 said:

In coco Idk but my pre98 bubba kush does this in transition into flower if I don't have the right npk ratios.....I notice that they love an abundance of N in veg but as soon as they start flowering it definitely does not, so I notice this leaf curl for a few weeks then it goes away....when my npk is on they don't curl at all....Idk if this the case with yours but just some food for thought....hopefully this helps diagnosing........

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Interesting sice the strain that is doing it most is a valley kush and Tahoe kush (my pre-91 chem). Do you happen to know your ratios that DONT make this happen for veg and flower?? Also, once i am actually in flower (not just the room that i flower in) they seem to pop right out and get back on track.

Here is an odd question, when you flip your girls from veg to flower, do you break them in to the new lights and environment slwoly or just go right in and put them at 100%?? I ask because maybe i am doing something not common?? I veg everyone under 1 1000wmh but when i go into flower room (still not 12/12 yet) they get spread out under 3 HPS 1000w, i raise the lights (about 4' off canopy), and turn my ballasts down to 50% and raise them to 100% over the next week, THEN flip to 12/12 and transplant to 5 gal buckets.

Friendly... i started watering every day a few days ago and still nothing. However, i flipped to 12/12 last night and i would be willing to bet that today when lights come on they will look MUCH better! Will give you guys an update and THANKS SO MUCH for EVERYONES suggestions!!

I just make sure my soil mix has less N....I transplant 1 week before flower into the finishing pot let the roots settle and then into the 12/12 room...I don't slow transition or do anything with the lights...just straight 12/12.....

i would say water them more imo a vegging plant is going to use far less water then a flowering plant, even a plant under a mh will use less then a plant under a hps try and water more, i have heard of alot of people doing out door grows needing to water 2 times a day just because pot is so full of roots it needs more water even though its not dry. idk just try watering it more once a day for a few days if it doesnt help then stop.. no harm done.